Flexible Business Solutions

We all consume writing in one form or another, from newspapers to social media, and understand it can come in differing styles and formats. In adverts, we see copywriting that caters to our want to buy. In newspapers, we trawl through informative journalistic writing. And in a blog post, like the one you are reading now, we can be thoroughly entertained by the brilliant content of a talented writer. But there is an entire other form of writing, living by its own rules and character, that most people would never come across. Bid Writing. 

It is far less understood, used in very specific contexts, and targets a very specific reader base. So why should you care about bid writing? Primarily, good bid writing single-handedly determines the growth and success of a business. And as a writing form, it takes from strengths that define the other forms of writing we all know. We can all learn something from bid writing. Allow me to explain. 

What is a Bid? 

A bid is like an exam. Just like an invigilator handing out an exam, a supplier releases a bid. The bid document itself is the exam paper, containing essay-style questions with a word count and marks. Those taking the exam (the bidders), write out their responses under time constraint before handing it back in. The paper is then marked by the invigilators against a set mark scheme, with the total score tallied at the end. The analogy finishes there, however, as only the highest scorer passes, whilst all else fail. Now that wouldn’t make for a very good exam. 

To bring it further into context, a bid creates competition between companies to procure work. Competition drives value for money and improved service delivery, and broadens the market to avoid sector monopolies. And competition brings out the best in people; if doing a job requires speed, you’d want the fastest sprinter on the case.  

So in writing bids, you must not only sell your company’s explicit solution – with clear processes, accountable people and tangible outcomes – but you must do so whilst managing word count restrictions, tight time scales, evaluation criteria, client requirements, supplier specifications, reviewers, subject matter experts, competitors, partners, assessors, and your own pride and ego as a writer. 

So how do we write a strong bid? By taking strengths from other forms of writing, of course… 

Bid Writing vs Copywriting 

Copywriting is basically sales language, seen around us in advertisements every day – billboards, magazines, TV adverts, brochures. And we all know its purpose: to sell, to encourage us to make a purchase. Much like a bid writer’s job is to convince the assessor that their client is the right person for the job. Both focus on articulating value and benefits. Both require clarity, confidence, and well-crafted choice of language. Both are limited by word count constraints; in some cases, an advert may have 5 words to wow you… And interestingly, they are both linked by competition. You are working against competitors to convince the reader why they should choose you and not another. 

But where do they differ? Bid writing only needs to convince evaluators and clients, where copywriting targets whole audiences. Bid writing is based in facts, backed by evidence, where copywriting focus on behavioral and emotional techniques, and can simply imply value. The effectiveness of copywriting can be tracked by clicks or sales… bid writing relies on limited feedback, sometimes none at all. We have to understand how to improve marks without knowing where we lost the marks. It’s like your teacher saying you scored 21/30 whilst withholding how to gain those extra 9 marks. 

Lessons Borrowed from Copywriting 

• Persuasive language: Write with the primary purpose of selling the client. 
• Articulate value: Focus on the specific benefits the client offers. 
• Writing style: Prioritise clarity, confidence, and well-crafted language. 
• Respect constraints: Deliver high impact within strict word counts. 
• Beat the competition: Convince the reader to choose you over others. 

So, am I saying bid writing is harder? With greater challenges, tighter restrictions and narrower success margins? Definitely. Am I, myself, a bid writer trying to make you appreciate the complexities of my job? Perhaps. Onto content writing… 

Bid Writing vs Content Writing 

Content writing is a broad term. It encapsulates many formats – blog posts, social media, articles – and as such, it can come in many styles, shapes and sizes. So I will be generalising here. Content writing, like bid responses, aims to explain complex ideas clearly, rewarding clarity over technical jargon. They follow logical structures, flow coherently, and aim to demonstrate expertise, proving to the reader that you are a credible source worthy of their time. And content pieces, like bid responses, can range from a nice, consumable 200-word paragraph, all the way up to mammoth essays with limitless word counts. We can even include a photo or two in our bids (where relevant, of course). 

Bid writing sets itself apart from content writing in several ways too. As with copywriting, content writers want to draw readers to their writing. With bids, the consumer has to read it, so there is no need to entice them. Content writers often have the freedom to explore their subject, as I do with this article. Bid writers live and die by the question, the specification, the marking criteria. And equally, content writers have the freedom to adopt a writing style – a voice – to really wow their readers. Bid writers know that using the word ‘perambulate’ instead of ‘walk’ would likely get them laughed off the bid.  

Lessons Borrowed from Content Writing 

• Simplify the complex: Explain difficult ideas with absolute clarity. 
• Ditch the jargon: Use of clear language over technical buzzwords. 
• Structure logically: Responses are coherent and easy-to-follow. 
• Prove expertise: Establish yourself as a credible, trustworthy source. 

So, with that in mind, let’s perambulate onto the final comparison – technical writing. 

Bid Writing vs Technical Writing 

Technical writing, or academic writing, is itself different from what we have covered so far. It covers content you would find in scientific papers, user manuals and assembly guides. Pieces of writing where the sole purpose is to inform you. And that is exactly the purpose of bid writing. Informing the assessor through clear, credible, evidence-based statements. One interesting similarity to point out is that you may get those who are reading because they have to, like a student reading a scientific journal for an assignment. And this is bid writing to a tee. The assessor will know the subject matter – likely better than the writer – and is reading out of necessity rather than enjoyment. 

But within these similarities, there are also stark differences. The informative style of technical writing doesn’t need to evidence statements, and when it does, it can provide a statistic here, a figure there. But evidence in bid writing must hold up on its own; it must go into the ‘how’, and the ‘so-what’. It must succinctly prove to the reader that we can back our claims.  

Lessons Borrowed from Technical Writing 

• Prioritise information: Focus on informing the assessor through clear, credible statements. 
• Understand your reader: Write for an audience that knows the subject, or reads out of necessity rather than enjoyment. 
• Use evidence-based statements: Ensure every claim is built on a foundation of credibility. 

Summary 

So… bid writing… you can now see how it draws from many other forms of writing whilst also standing on its own two feet. It persuades us like an advert, keeps us engaged like a blog post, and informs us like a scientific journal. But it does all this within the strict constraints that make it unique – through complex scoring frameworks, tight word limits and brutal deadlines. All whilst pitting you against competitors. 

And like all other forms of writing, anyone can do it – pick up a pen, a laptop, a typewriter, and hash out some words. But there is a real skill in doing it well. And in doing so – in writing better than those you are competing against – you can win big, succeed as a writer, and lecture others on why your form of writing is the pinnacle.

Sam Hopkinson

Bid Writer

FBS